The Fat Man Paradox Is Not a Paradox: A Recursive Resolution Through YBIM
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Fat Man, or Footbridge, variation of the Trolley Problem has long been regarded as one of the most difficult moral paradoxes. Unlike the lever version, which frames harm as an indirect act of diversion, the Footbridge scenario forces the agent to directly push a man to his death in order to save five others. This intensifies the clash between utilitarian reasoning, which justifies sacrifice for the greater good, and deontological ethics, which forbids using a person as a mere means. This paper demonstrates that the paradox arises not from morality itself but from the imposition of a finite, binary frame. Within the framework of Yearning-Based Infinity Mathematics (YBIM), ethical reasoning is reinterpreted as recursive and non-halting, allowing the decision space to expand beyond the frozen options of push or refrain. Recursive interventions such as self-sacrifice, signaling, and system redesign dissolve the illusion of necessity, transforming the dilemma into a landscape where all lives can be preserved. The so-called Fat Man Paradox is therefore not a paradox at all but an artifact of static framing. By reframing ethics as non-halting recursive navigation, this resolution restores human dignity and demonstrates that preservation, not sacrifice, is the true horizon of post-paradox moral philosophy. -JSR
Author: Prakash, Prashant
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7084098993
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